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What have you done to your XS today?
- Thread starter I am Carbon
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- maintenance
I had to pull my clutch today. Rode to the mother in laws yesterday with no problems. Went to ride to work and it acted like a dead battery, starter would clunk but not turn over. So threw it on the charger and jumped in the truck. Today I pulled the clutch cover since it still wouldn't crank, and for the little gear that engages the gear 4 set up was missing a tooth. Luckily the tooth was sitting in the side cover. Looking at it I think the tooth had a crack for who knows how long and the higher compression finally got it. I was able to pull the gear out of a spare set of cases and now all is well.
Aww sh!t gator - that’s a drag and half.
Ratranger - all I can say, I know how ya feel man!
Ratranger - all I can say, I know how ya feel man!
Hey everybody! I’m sure plenty of us are going to take part in this years DGR, but I thought I would post a link here for anyone that wants to sponsor me this year. Last year I raised a couple hundred dollars but didn't actually get to ride because they canceled our ride due to weather. Hoping this year fares better! Anyway, help support me and a great cause! For those unfamiliar, the Distinguished Gentlemen's Ride is an annual Global Charity ride that raises money for Men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer and suicide prevention. Not to get too political, but With all the focus on all these different groups of “historically oppressed” people, it seems like Men are often overlooked and it is assumed we are all fine. I think this is a very important charity and I am proud to be a part of it, and I truly believe it is a great cause.
https://www.gentlemansride.com/rider/ThaddeusZimmerman262548
https://www.gentlemansride.com/rider/ThaddeusZimmerman262548
It was actually yesterday, but anyway. The ebay RH side cover finally arrived, and I cut out the front for carb/ K&N filter clearance, just like I had already done on the LH side (as shown in my RS34 flatslide pumper thread) Good enough for the remainder of this season, even if not quite as nice as my fuel tank. There is a long winter ahead for a little bit sheetmetal work, welding, blasting and painting.
What Had I done to my 80 Special lately???
Hmmmm. So this bike was a marketplace find, ran decent, rode well, needed tlc. Soooooo. I de-rusted the fuel tank in this weird ritual I now use to de-rust fuel tanks. I make a little plate to blank off the petcock flange, gasket it, and blank it off. I dump a LOT of apple cider vinegar into the tank, and use an 1-1/2" plumbing test balloon to seal off the fill hole. I swish it around, and over the course of a couple days, three times a day I swish it round and lay the tank in a different position. The acid etches the tank interior somewhat, also eats the rust off. I then wash it out, warm soapy water, and of course it "flashes" and a light dusting of rust appears. I blow the tank out with air, and add "Evaporust" product, re seal, and swish and set in different angles for another day. After saving the Evaporust because you can keep using it, I wash the tank out with a two stroke fuel mix thouroughly. I installed a new petcock, ON-OFF-RESERVE for my later model Mikuni's with no vacuum stuff. I disassembled the fuel cap and cleaned all parts and added a new rubber seal. Tank's old, has a dent or two, but paint matches my side covers so............
Having bought the bike around 3 months ago and noticing the fuel issue..... Old vac style petcock dumping fuel through the float bowls into the crankcase... I decided to dump the oil and see what was to be seen. NOT an XS expert, but I've lurked and I've read....oil was nice and thick and new, but had fuel in it. I pulled the screen at the pump. Found pieces of cam chain guide plastic, glitter flakes of aluminum, and fuzz. I thought back to the cold rainy day in Tehachapi when I went to view this bike for possible purchase..... The fellow who owned it was having difficulty getting it to fire up. It had set, and the temp was about 43 degrees and wet. As I walked to my truck to grab my helmet, I heard the bike fire up and then get jerked up to 5000RPM up and down, up and down..... I remember thinking, "Geez this guy is gonna blow that thing up!" He saw me coming back around the corner and let it idle. I rode it. Smooth power, ran fine, and it had been such a long time for me to ride, I made an offer, he accepted.
Well after lurking, and finding those ingredients in my oil filter, I decided to drop the sump plate. Wasn't surprised at all to find the sump filter looking like a toothless harmonica.
Now I should mention I had rode it for 100 miles, small 1.2 mile putt putt rides down to the local cafe. Never over 300RPM, I wanted to listen to it, feel it, etc. I knew the head was probably loose, I thought maybe there might be a few little things to square away.
So my list of work during the fuel tank ritual was, retorque the head and replace 1-4 head bolt washers with Mike'sXS copper. Dump the oil, clean the crankcase out with kerosene, allow it to drip dry a few days while I did some of the other work,,,, Adjust the cam chain tension, check the valve clearance, clean and tidy up the crankcase vent filter situation, clean and oil the air filers, fix a crack in a side cover, and kind of go through a general maintenance.
I got a Mike'sXS sump filter, new gasket, new washers for the drain plugs. I put Motul 20/50 with some Zinc additive in, I swapped the plugs to the NGK iridium, I went through all the general maintenance and even took the battery down to the battery shop to have it checked out.
Yesterday I got the little feller fired up, it was cold, (the bike) so I choked it. It idled so well I felt like even though I know I need to do the top end and cam chain stuff, I might just be able to milk a few rides outta this thing.
So this morning I fired it up, let it idle and warm up. Took a nice easy little ride down to the cafe. Everything fine. When it came time to leave, fired right up, rode great. A bit later, I was leaving from a dead stop, bike just died, I thought, "Okay, maybe I should've given it a bit more throttle??? Maybe Pilot error, I killed it?" But I was well into the intersection, so that seemed strange. I looked down, STARTER BUTTON GONE! LOL! No biggy, I flipped out the kickstart, hopped on it, and was back in action. Bike was running bad, like maybe only firing on one cylinder? Yet exhaust sounded like firing on both. Very sluggish, Bogging down. Would not idle for sh*t, just die, so rolling along I'd "bump" start it. Had to do this a few times to get home. Once home bike wouldn't even start with a good kick.
plugs are clean, Gonna order a new button. anything I should be looking at as an immediate troubleshoot???
Hmmmm. So this bike was a marketplace find, ran decent, rode well, needed tlc. Soooooo. I de-rusted the fuel tank in this weird ritual I now use to de-rust fuel tanks. I make a little plate to blank off the petcock flange, gasket it, and blank it off. I dump a LOT of apple cider vinegar into the tank, and use an 1-1/2" plumbing test balloon to seal off the fill hole. I swish it around, and over the course of a couple days, three times a day I swish it round and lay the tank in a different position. The acid etches the tank interior somewhat, also eats the rust off. I then wash it out, warm soapy water, and of course it "flashes" and a light dusting of rust appears. I blow the tank out with air, and add "Evaporust" product, re seal, and swish and set in different angles for another day. After saving the Evaporust because you can keep using it, I wash the tank out with a two stroke fuel mix thouroughly. I installed a new petcock, ON-OFF-RESERVE for my later model Mikuni's with no vacuum stuff. I disassembled the fuel cap and cleaned all parts and added a new rubber seal. Tank's old, has a dent or two, but paint matches my side covers so............
Having bought the bike around 3 months ago and noticing the fuel issue..... Old vac style petcock dumping fuel through the float bowls into the crankcase... I decided to dump the oil and see what was to be seen. NOT an XS expert, but I've lurked and I've read....oil was nice and thick and new, but had fuel in it. I pulled the screen at the pump. Found pieces of cam chain guide plastic, glitter flakes of aluminum, and fuzz. I thought back to the cold rainy day in Tehachapi when I went to view this bike for possible purchase..... The fellow who owned it was having difficulty getting it to fire up. It had set, and the temp was about 43 degrees and wet. As I walked to my truck to grab my helmet, I heard the bike fire up and then get jerked up to 5000RPM up and down, up and down..... I remember thinking, "Geez this guy is gonna blow that thing up!" He saw me coming back around the corner and let it idle. I rode it. Smooth power, ran fine, and it had been such a long time for me to ride, I made an offer, he accepted.
Well after lurking, and finding those ingredients in my oil filter, I decided to drop the sump plate. Wasn't surprised at all to find the sump filter looking like a toothless harmonica.
Now I should mention I had rode it for 100 miles, small 1.2 mile putt putt rides down to the local cafe. Never over 300RPM, I wanted to listen to it, feel it, etc. I knew the head was probably loose, I thought maybe there might be a few little things to square away.
So my list of work during the fuel tank ritual was, retorque the head and replace 1-4 head bolt washers with Mike'sXS copper. Dump the oil, clean the crankcase out with kerosene, allow it to drip dry a few days while I did some of the other work,,,, Adjust the cam chain tension, check the valve clearance, clean and tidy up the crankcase vent filter situation, clean and oil the air filers, fix a crack in a side cover, and kind of go through a general maintenance.
I got a Mike'sXS sump filter, new gasket, new washers for the drain plugs. I put Motul 20/50 with some Zinc additive in, I swapped the plugs to the NGK iridium, I went through all the general maintenance and even took the battery down to the battery shop to have it checked out.
Yesterday I got the little feller fired up, it was cold, (the bike) so I choked it. It idled so well I felt like even though I know I need to do the top end and cam chain stuff, I might just be able to milk a few rides outta this thing.
So this morning I fired it up, let it idle and warm up. Took a nice easy little ride down to the cafe. Everything fine. When it came time to leave, fired right up, rode great. A bit later, I was leaving from a dead stop, bike just died, I thought, "Okay, maybe I should've given it a bit more throttle??? Maybe Pilot error, I killed it?" But I was well into the intersection, so that seemed strange. I looked down, STARTER BUTTON GONE! LOL! No biggy, I flipped out the kickstart, hopped on it, and was back in action. Bike was running bad, like maybe only firing on one cylinder? Yet exhaust sounded like firing on both. Very sluggish, Bogging down. Would not idle for sh*t, just die, so rolling along I'd "bump" start it. Had to do this a few times to get home. Once home bike wouldn't even start with a good kick.
plugs are clean, Gonna order a new button. anything I should be looking at as an immediate troubleshoot???
Somethings wrong with your charging system, I about gggGary-an-tee it.
Charge the battery, watch it leap to life.
Then start reading. http://www.xs650.com/threads/expanded-charging-system-guide-in-progress.10561/
Charge the battery, watch it leap to life.
Then start reading. http://www.xs650.com/threads/expanded-charging-system-guide-in-progress.10561/
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Well after 5 months the 78 special is ready to fire up, new stainless valves, Heiden filters,clutch rod,and a plethora of other bits, suspension upgrades, tyres, chassis painted and wheels, new Boyer, harness sorted and most of the connector blocks removed and bullet connectors used along with relocation to under the tank, a lot less in the light bowl now, new indicators and headlight and KZ1000 handlebars, retained original paint, just got to rebuild the brake calipers now, have gone for a new master cylinder as it's more economical, the bike is a long way from the abused and toshed up 40 year old thing I got last December, a lot of hours and Fecks have gone into this, but I am pleased with the result being a nice tidy bike. That's my elderly neighbor posing on it.
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fishandchips
XS650 Enthusiast
Got a new tool roll for a bit of bling. Can’t decide wether to attach to forks for mount at rear of seat I am having made.
Just got home from a 30ish mile ride. I had an exciting moment when going 35 and a wasp got in my helmet. A quick stop and off came the sunglasses and helmet. The bastard managed to get me once, but he didn't live long.
So just to show how cool the SH775 reg/rec is with a PMA here is a pick of my hand on it right after parking. The bike was charging at a solid 14.2v the whole ride. All LED lighting, but I do have the EFI pulling a load.
So just to show how cool the SH775 reg/rec is with a PMA here is a pick of my hand on it right after parking. The bike was charging at a solid 14.2v the whole ride. All LED lighting, but I do have the EFI pulling a load.
Looks really nice and it’s got YAMAHA embossed on it.
Do you have a linky for that you could post?
That happened to me, once. I discovered just how fast I could come to a stop on my '75.
The same year, I stopped to help a guy on his Harley on the side of the road; he seemed to be having a psychotic breakdown, tearing his helmet off, and yelling, ITS IN MY EAR !! I got it out, very carefully. He was quite appreciative.
Your '78 looks great !
Heck, your neighbor is just a kid !
seems to me he needs an XS650, too.
fishandchips
XS650 Enthusiast
Here you go Pete, this is where I bought it from. The info should be enough for you to find in sunny Canada.
https://www.crescentmoto.uk/genuine-yamaha-toolbox-bag-sports-heritage-xsr700.html
Cheers
Garry
https://www.crescentmoto.uk/genuine-yamaha-toolbox-bag-sports-heritage-xsr700.html
Cheers
Garry
Br B get that bike back............polishing Bob has polished the black guards to a chrome finish
Thanks Garry!
DB90
XS650 Addict
I finally got her new shoes put on! Took 'er for a rip and she seems to be running quite nice and riding smoothly! Seems to get a little hot but I don't think it's to the point of worrying too bad about it.
I also upgraded my flasher and installed LEDs in the tail light and rear blinkers!
I also upgraded my flasher and installed LEDs in the tail light and rear blinkers!
Attachments
Love the retro look of the lights and white walls.
